' Schools around my area offer a wide–range of support for those with additional learning needs. As well as being a young carer, I'm also neurodivergent. My needs are met in school, and I am supported well. For instance, I have a time–out card for when I need a few moments outside of class. This is my main support, and my teachers also support me by making sure that I'm okay in class. This helps me, and it makes me happy that my teachers understand me.
As well as this, my younger brother attends a school designed especially to support him with his disability. The school has helped support him and my parents massively, and it is outstanding how much work they do to help him.'
Aimee Curtis (Young Carer from North Wales) describes her experience now that appropriate support is in place for her and her brother. It is an outcome that all parent carers are looking towards.
The Additional Learning Needs (ALN) system is the new system for supporting children and young people aged 0-25 in Wales with ALN. The system is replacing the Special Educational Needs (SEN) system and the system for supporting young people with learning difficulties/disabilities (LDD). The ALNET Wales Act 2018 (Part 2, Chapter 1) (Chapter 2 ALN Code) says:
A person has additional learning needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability (whether the learning difficulty or disability arises from a medical condition or otherwise) which calls for additional learning provision. Importantly, the definition of ALN covers learners whose learning difficulty or disability that arises from a medical condition. A child or young person would not have ALN if their lack of progress or learning difficulties can be addressed through differentiated teaching of the kind that is usually available in schools or colleges.
Carers are collaborating with Charity Credu connecting carers https://www.carers.cymru with the hope to raise awareness of the needs of children who struggle to access appropriate education. Many families are still without appropriate guidance and understanding of the new system and whilst some organisations have set up ALN information sessions to inform parent carers, families are still left struggling to deal with the daily battles faced as their children’s educational and health needs are being affected due to waiting lists for support / diagnosis or lack of acknowledgement from schools or authorities that these children may have Additional Learning Needs. Often families are then faced with the prospect of Tribunal to ensure their child’s needs are met, but this can be an arduous and anxiety provoking process in itself and at this point families are already exhausted from having not felt heard. In the meantime, children can end up with mental health, struggling to learn and/or attend school. Unfortunately, in a lot of cases such children are left without an education at home and families are then faced with threats of unauthorised absences and possible fines or choose to Electively Home Educate, as they try to find appropriate support.
In response to this, a Parent Carer ALN Strategic Forum has been recently set up to address these and similar issues faced by families, particularly in Powys, and to draw attention of authorities responsible. Their hope is to work in collaboration with other relevant organisations, action groups and charities to gain real stories, also success stories where ALN support and education is working well, and to discuss this at national level to create open discussions in the hope of opening doors to wider understanding.
I am a parent carer of a 10-year old child with Emotional Based School Anxiety, which was brought about through early puberty, sensory needs mixed with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) , sleep issues and all around Covid-19. She has been home for over a year now, but has since been diagnosed with ASD (PDA) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) . We are finally in receipt of an LA IDP (Local authority Independent Development Plan) but our journey was harder and longer than it needed to be, which ultimately had an impact on our daughter missing out on accessible full time education. I and other carers who share similar journeys are passionate to bring about change and hope that collectively we can have a positive impact.
If you are keen to know more about this project, work in collaboration with us or share your story, please email Tamara@credu.cymru.
Tamara Mccabe – Supporting Neurodiverse Families.
System ADY newydd yng Nghymru a’i effaith ar ein plant
'Mae ysgolion o amgylch fy ardal yn cynnig ystod eang o gefnogaeth i’r sawl sydd ag anghenion dysgu ychwanegol. Ynghyd â bod yn ofalwr ifanc, ‘dwi hefyd yn niwro-amrywiol. Mae fy anghenion yn cael eu diwallu yn yr ysgol, a ‘dwi’n cael fy nghefnogi’n dda. Er enghraifft, mae gennyf gerdyn amser tawel pan mae angen ambell ennyd arnaf y tu allan i’r dosbarth. Dyma fy mhrif gefnogaeth, ac mae’r athrawon hefyd yn fy nghefnogi trwy sicrhau fy mod yn iawn yn y dosbarth. Mae hyn yn fy helpu, ac yn fy ngwneud yn hapus fod fy athrawon yn fy neall i.
Ynghyd â hyn, mae fy mrawd ieuengaf yn mynychu ysgol sydd wedi’i chynllunio’n arbennig i’w gefnogi gyda’i anabledd. Mae’r ysgol hon wedi helpu ei gefnogi ef a’m rhieni yn aruthrol, ac mae’n ardderchog faint o waith maen nhw’n ei wneud i’w helpu ef.’ Aimee Curtis (Gofalwraig Ifanc o Ogledd Cymru) yn disgrifio ei phrofiad nawr fod cefnogaeth briodol ar waith iddi hi a’i brawd. Dyma ddeilliant y mae pob rhiant yn edrych amdano.
Y system Anghenion Dysgu Ychwanegol (ADY) yw’r system newydd i gefnogi plant a phobl ifanc 0-25 oed yng Nghymru sydd ag ADY. Mae’r system yn disodli’r system Anghenion Addysgol Arbennig (AAA) a’r system i gefnogi pobl ifanc sydd ag anawsterau dysgu/anableddau (ADA). Dywed Deddf Anghenion Dysgu Ychwanegol a’r Tribiwnlys Addysg 2018 (Rhan 2, Pennod 1) (Pennod 2 y Cod ADY):
Mae gan berson anghenion dysgu ychwanegol os oes ganddo anhawster dysgu neu anabledd (pa un a yw'r anhawster dysgu neu'r anabledd yn deillio o gyflwr meddygol ai peidio) sy'n galw am ddarpariaeth ddysgu ychwanegol. Mae’n bwysig nodi bod y diffiniad o ADY yn cwmpasu dysgwyr y mae eu hanableddau neu anawsterau dysgu yn deillio o gyflwr meddygol. Ni fyddai gan blentyn neu berson ifanc ADY os gellir mynd i’r afael â’u diffyg cynnydd neu anawsterau dysgu drwy addysgu gwahaniaethol o’r math sydd fel arfer ar gael mewn ysgolion neu golegau.
Mae gofalwyr yn cydweithredu gyda’r elusen, Credu yn Cysylltu Gofalwyr https://www.carers.cymru gyda’r gobaith o godi ymwybyddiaeth am anghenion plant sy’n cael anawsterau wrth gael mynediad at addysg briodol. Mae nifer o deuluoedd yn parhau i fod heb gyfarwyddyd a dealltwriaeth briodol o’r system newydd a thra bo rhai sefydliadau wedi sefydlu sesiynau gwybodaeth ar ADY i gyflwyno gwybodaeth i rieni gofalwyr, mae teuluoedd yn dal i fod wedi’u gadael yn straffaglu i ddelio gyda’r brwydrau dyddiol wrth i anghenion addysgol ac iechyd eu plant gael eu heffeithio oherwydd rhestrau aros am gefnogaeth / diagnosis neu ddiffyg cydnabyddiaeth gan ysgolion neu awdurdodau fod Anghenion Dysgu Ychwanegol o bosibl gan y plant hyn. Yn aml, mae teuluoedd wedi hynny yn wynebu’r posibilrwydd o Dribiwnlys i sicrhau fod anghenion eu plant yn cael eu diwallu, ond gall hyn fod yn broses ddyrys sy’n ennyn gorbryder ynddo’i hunan ac ar yr adeg hon, mae teuluoedd yn aml wedi’u llethu gan flinder o deimlo nad ydynt yn cael gwrandawiad. Yn y cyfamser, gall plant brofi anawsterau iechyd meddwl yn y diwedd, gan straffaglu i ddysgu a/neu fynychu ysgol. Mewn llawer o achosion yn anffodus, bydd plant o’r fath yn cael eu gadael heb addysg yn y cartref ac yna bydd teuluoedd yn wynebu bygythiadau o absenoldebau heb eu hawdurdodi neu’n dewis Addysg Ddewisol yn y Cartref, wrth iddynt geisio canfod y gefnogaeth briodol.
Mewn ymateb i hyn, mae’r Fforwm Strategol ADY i Rieni Gofalwyr wedi cael ei sefydlu’n ddiweddar i fynd i’r afael â’r materion hyn a materion tebyg a wynebir gan deuluoedd, yn enwedig ym Mhowys, ac i dynnu sylw’r awdurdodau sy’n gyfrifol. Eu gobaith yw gweithio mewn cydweithrediad gyda sefydliadau, grwpiau gweithredu ac elusennau perthnasol eraill i dderbyn storïau go iawn, ynghyd â straeon o lwyddiant lle mae cefnogaeth ac addysg ADY yn gweithio’n dda, gan drafod hyn ar lefel genedlaethol i greu trafodaeth agored yn y gobaith o agor drysau tuag at ddealltwriaeth ehangach.
‘Dwi’n rhiant ofalwr i blentyn 10 mlwydd oed sydd â Gorbryder Emosiynol sy’n Seiliedig ar fynd i’r Ysgol, a ddaeth i’r amlwg trwy laslencyndod cynnar, anghenion emosiynol yn gymysg ag Anhwylder Osgoi Gofynion (PDA), anawsterau cysgu a’r cyfan sydd ynghlwm â Covid-19. Mae hi wedi bod adref am dros flwyddyn yn awr, ond wedi derbyn diagnosis o Anhwylder ar y Sbectrwm Awtistig (PDA) ac Anhwylder Diffyg Canolbwyntio a Gorfywiogrwydd (ADHD) ers hynny. Rydym o’r diwedd wedi derbyn Cynllun Datblygu Unigol (CDU) gan yr Awdurdod Lleol ond roedd ein taith yn anoddach ac yn hirach nag yr oedd angen iddi fod, sydd yn y pen draw wedi cael effaith ar ein merch yn colli allan ar addysg lawn amser sydd o fewn cyrraedd iddi. Rwyf innau a gofalwyr eraill sy’n rhannu teithiau tebyg yn angerddol am gyflwyno newid ac yn gobeithio y gallwn gael effaith bositif yn gasgliadol.
Os ydych yn awyddus i wybod mwy am y prosiect hwn, gweithio’n gydweithredol gyda ni neu rannu eich stori, anfonwch e-bost at Tamara@credu.cymru.
Tamara Mccabe – Yn Cefnogi Teuluoedd Niwro-amrywiol.
Credu yn Cysylltu Gofalwyr